A lens actuator 1 in the prior art is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,457,061. The lens actuator 1 comprises a case 11, magnets 12, an inner yoke 13, an outer yoke 14, a coil 15, a carrier 16 and two terminals 17. The magnets 12, the inner yoke 13, the outer yoke 14, the coil 15 and the carrier 16 are all assembled in a receiving space defined by the case 11. The magnets 12 connect the inner yoke 13 and the outer yoke 14. The coil 15 is movable in a space defined between the inner yoke 13 and the outer yoke 14, and is fixed to a flange of the carrier 16, the carrier 16 can carry a lens, thus when a current flowing in the coil 15, the carrier 16 can move, and a focus of the lens can be adjusted.
The two terminals 17 are respectively assembled at opposite positions of the case 11. The coil 15 is soldered to the two terminals 17. An end portion of the terminal 17 is bent, is flattened against an upper surface of the case 11, the other end portion of the terminal 17 close to a lower surface of the case 11 is bent so as to be soldered to a circuit board. The circuit board can provide the current to the coil 15 via the terminals 17. As the two terminals 17 are separate components with respect to the case 11, additional manufacturing and assembling are required, so as to cause manufacturing of the lens actuator 1 to take more time and labour.
In some lens actuators in the prior art, the terminal is fixed to the case using an insert-mold process. A terminal fixed with insert-molding requires sufficient strength, thus the terminal must be large enough to provide the needed strength. The terminal with a large size tends to cause a volume of the case to become larger, and does not facilitate application of the lens actuator in thin type electronic devices. Thus, certain individuals would appreciate further improvements in a lens actuator